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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 8:33:28 GMT -5
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/NEWS01/809280337/1285/LOCAL09FREEHOLD — A local lawyer wants to set up a small law office to accommodate herself and up to three others, near the county courthouse. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Some residents in the neighborhood surrounding the Monmouth County courthouse are not happy with matrimonial lawyer Veronica Davis's plan to buy a house at 68 Court Street and convert it into office space, which they say will mean further erosion of a neighborhood that already includes a handful of professional offices. "Over the years, we have fought to keep our street from becoming less residential," says Debra Esola, who lives on Monument Street, which runs alongside the courthouse. The neighborhood surrounding the courthouse is predominantly residential, but several businesses also have set up shop in the area. The Monmouth County Historical Association is located next door to the house Davis wants to buy. Esola, 44, wants to ensure that her neighborhood remains a neighborhood and on Wednesday evening, she made her concerns known at a meeting of the Freehold Planning Board. Davis has applied to the board for a use variance because her intended office is located in a residential zone. About 15 people attended the meeting. Several spoke against the application, although one neighbor voiced support for Davis's plan. "I absolutely support Roni 100 percent in what she does," said Gina Ramos, 39, who lives at 64 Court Street. "I think she's going to preserve the integrity of the area." Davis currently has an office at 80 Court Street, a building she shares with several other lawyers. Davis wants more space than her current office offers and, if approved, she wants to move her office to 68 Court Street. A second office would be located in the house, and another two could be located in a carriage house on the property, she said. One problem for residents, however, was that the house would be empty at night. Responding to their concern, Davis says she could make the carriage house a residence, if necessary. Davis also wants to extend the driveway around the house, with 12 parking spaces in the rear of the building. She would plant landscaping in the backyard, she said. Davis also has pledged to maintain the home's historical look. A vote on the application is scheduled for the board's Oct. 22 meeting. Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 8:45:00 GMT -5
This is interesting and, at least for me, raises more questions that answers. Personally, I hope the application is denied. That part of town is beautiful and one of the gems of our town when it comes to residential areas. I believe that area should stay that way.
Where the questions come in, is in reference to the vision study. This is an example of the business and residential issues meeting each other head on. This is an example of where good town planning comes in. We don't want to lose our nice residential areas, do we?
I view this a a good opportunity. Is there any was to entice the applicant to look elsewhere in town, such as a more run down area and invest her business there? If a person such as Davis really wants to be here, then entice people like her to invest in areas in need of rehabilitation. I believe this is a great example of where a tax abatement can come in and benefit all parties.
I don't not know if the planning board can deny the application, or if so, on what grounds.
And of course it is hard to back my thoughts up without knowing what is in the vision study.
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 10:29:13 GMT -5
How much space does this attorney need? There is a brand new office on South St. I am sure the developer is not sold out. There are a number of commercial "Home's" for sale on Main street, and I know of one property with 1400 sq feet to rent on Main street too.
Why lose Residential property for a commercial venture this far off Main street when there is plenty of office space available in town. This rezoning will erode the integrity of the street and neighborhood and simply is just not needed with all the available inventory.
Why is this property so attractive to the applicant?
Brian...issuing abatement's can only be visited unless there is a very long term commitment and the entire community benefits, not just developers and business owners.
Examine the History of the resent past, how have homeowners benefited from any development to date?
"look elsewhere in town, such as a more run down area and invest her business there?" WHERE?
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Post by novillero on Sept 28, 2008 10:48:22 GMT -5
I am sure that there is rentals available on both Main Street and in the new complex on South Street. Main Street would seem to be nice for parking, and getting business from foot traffic. I am sure that people that need a lawyer do not wait until they drive to the courtouse to find one... ohh, I am getting divorced today, la-la-la-la I am driving myself to the couthouse... HEY! there's a lawyer's office right next to the courthouse... maybe I should use on after all!!! does this happen??? |
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 11:30:10 GMT -5
Fiber wrote:
Brian...issuing abatement's can only be visited unless there is a very long term commitment and the entire community benefits, not just developers and business owners.
Examine the History of the resent past, how have homeowners benefited from any development to date?I will NOT get into the tax abatement debate, we have been through that one enough!  But, you may have a point, after all who would want to live in a town with a thriving down town and strong business community. ;D
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 11:32:40 GMT -5
I would imagine the decision for the divorce attorney was that the location desired was in walking distance to the courthouse. You all have good points in that there are likely other desirable locations in town that could serve this practice very well. Novillero, that was funny! I laughed. I bet there are people out there who would do just that! I liked Novillero's post too. It got me thinking, instead of convenience stores we could have convenience lawyers. For those special occasions like a drive by divorce. Think of it.... I will go to Freehold today. Eat lunch, buy flowers, and get a divorce. Can't do that at the mall! ;D |
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Post by lisas84 on Sept 28, 2008 12:05:55 GMT -5
I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc.
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 12:10:05 GMT -5
I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc. back to a serious note.... I agree with you. I think the question in my mind is, how to get that to work for the town a little more? Again, we have areas in need of rehabilitation. Instead of seeing a really nice residential area turned into offices, can we entice people like the applicant to go somewhere else, say Throckmorton? an area in need of improvemnt? I say tax abatements for those who help! It works out good for everyone that way. |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 12:28:20 GMT -5
Fiber wrote:
Brian...issuing abatement's can only be visited unless there is a very long term commitment and the entire community benefits, not just developers and business owners.
Examine the History of the resent past, how have homeowners benefited from any development to date?I will NOT get into the tax abatement debate, we have been through that one enough! But, you may have a point, after all who would want to live in a town with a thriving down town and strong business community. ;D Issuing a slick blanked statement, like who doesn't want "Family Success" center for that matter. SO who prefers paying high property tax so ONLY business Profit and developers thrive? ( self edit) Nice cliche to support hyperbole, you see the result of the last 21 years "Downtown Development" stories. Your an investor here too, do you see any releaf from the 40% municipal tax increase since 2000, any time soon? Examine the History of the past to the present and how homeowners have benefited from any development to date, remember who's keeping the the electric running here. Start thinking "Total Municipal-Economic Revival"... more to follow over the next few days. |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 12:39:28 GMT -5
I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc. Interesting.... so who knows how many law office are needed, what is the total available Market? |
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 12:52:47 GMT -5
Fiber wrote:
Brian...issuing abatement's can only be visited unless there is a very long term commitment and the entire community benefits, not just developers and business owners.
Examine the History of the resent past, how have homeowners benefited from any development to date?I will NOT get into the tax abatement debate, we have been through that one enough! But, you may have a point, after all who would want to live in a town with a thriving down town and strong business community. ;D Issueing a slick blanked statement, like who would doesn't want "Family Success" center for that matter. SO who prefers paying high property tax so business and developers can thrive? Nice cliche to support hyperbole, you see the result of the last 21 years "Downtown Development" stories. Your an investor here too, do you see any releaf from the 40% municipal tax increase since 2000, any time soon? Examine the History of the past to the present and how homeowners have benefited from any development to date, remember who's keeping the the electric running here. Start thinking "Total Municipal-Economic Revival"... more to follow over the next few days. This is a nice simple conversation. As I mentioned, there are more questions for me than answers at this point. With what little I do know in reference to what the planning board can do, as well as what the vision study entails, I simply put out a few ideas. For some reason, you appear to be incomplete attack mode. Yes, you have some points in reference to the need for economic development and making everything work together, but all I see is attacks and no solutions. I hope for your sake that what ever you have planned over the next few days makes a lot more sense than what you have written today. Beating up on business, FCP or any others without providing solutions, good clear ones, will do nobody any good. And what you have written here opens the floor for so many other debates and topics, ones I will not bother with at this time. |
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 12:56:20 GMT -5
I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc. Interesting.... so who knows how many law office are needed, what is the total available Market? Can you elaborate? What was the point of this?  |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 13:11:11 GMT -5
This is a nice simple conversation. As I mentioned, there are more questions for me than answers at this point. With what little I do know in reference to what the planning board can do, as well as what the vision study entails, I simply put out a few ideas. For some reason, you appear to be incomplete attack mode. Yes, you have some points in reference to the need for economic development and making everything work together, but all I see is attacks and no solutions. I hope for your sake that what ever you have planned over the next few days makes a lot more sense than what you have written today. Beating up on business, FCP or any others without providing solutions, good clear ones, will do nobody any good. And what you have written here opens the floor for so many other debates and topics, ones I will not bother with at this time. Brian, questions are far from 'attack's", your spinning and being silly. |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 13:16:00 GMT -5
Interesting.... so who knows how many law office are needed, what is the total available Market? Can you elaborate? What was the point of this? ...what is the Total Available Market of lawyers looking of Borough office space. |
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 13:22:56 GMT -5
Can you elaborate? What was the point of this? ...what is the Total Available Market of lawyers looking of Borough office space. I am asking you in context of this thread. A lawyer does want to open up shop here, so what does the market for lawyers have to do with that? I may be missing your point, that is why I ask. |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 13:37:04 GMT -5
I am asking you in context of this thread. A lawyer does want to open up shop here, so what does the market for lawyers have to do with that? I may be missing your point, that is why I ask. I'm sorry Brian, my Marketing class (taken in the last century ;D lol) has me trained to ask the question, who and what is the TAM (Total Available Market) Read on..... Lisa .."I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc. "One can presume that the benefit in question is....., suggesting there is a need (Market) for more law offices, thus Ted..... "what is the Total Available Market of lawyers looking of Borough office space."Can you think of any other benefit other than office space and dinning, Lisa can you list other benefits you are referencing for the county seat... |
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Post by admin on Sept 28, 2008 13:44:18 GMT -5
I am asking you in context of this thread. A lawyer does want to open up shop here, so what does the market for lawyers have to do with that? I may be missing your point, that is why I ask. Read Please.. Lisa .."I think any county seat can benefit from a range of attorney specialists, such as tax, intellectual property, personal injury, estates and wills, corporate, family law and divorce, etc. "One can presume that the benefit in question is....., suggesting there is a need for more law offices, thus Ted..... "what is the Total Available Market of lawyers looking of Borough office space."Can you think of any other benefit, lets list all the other benefits there are for the county seat... I am asking you in context of this thread. A lawyer does want to open up shop here, so what does the market for lawyers have to do with that? I may be missing your point, that is why I ask. Gotcha. This discussion definately belongs in another thread, so I will bow out of the discusion for now. |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 13:48:40 GMT -5
Gotcha, or Gotcha??? |
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 13:55:59 GMT -5
OK so here is a suggestion for the developers of the New Office complex on SO Street...
So since we are the county seat, and the hub of state and county legal activities....can you focus your marketing of available office space, as "THE Professional Legal Services Center".
OK back to the MET game.
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Post by fiberisgoodforyou on Sept 28, 2008 18:50:23 GMT -5
Fiber's question about the local market for lawyers is rather keen. I think, because we are a county seat with the courthouse, the market is rather energetic and sensible. I may very well have the need for a good IP (intellectual property) attorney and how convenient for me to work with someone local, rather than in NYC, for example. Fiber also brought up the Class A space on South Street. A good question about inhabitants/tenants there. I can see that space harboring attorneys of various specialties. Attorneys in a box! Choose one! Life is a box of attorneys, you never know what you'll get. OK MET game (and Shea Stadium) is over  So in addition to Law offices, other Legal Services in the box such as Transcriber services, Para-Legal Services, Secretarial Services, Legal Personnel Temp Agency...., Investigators/PIs Legal Processors, Courier Service and why not a few CPA's, or maybe a small banking office, or a Fedex-Kinkos Copy Center even . |
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Post by admin on Oct 8, 2008 15:55:49 GMT -5
newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1008/front_page/010.htmlPlan to convert home panned by residents Attorney wants to place offices in residence across from courthouse BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer FREEHOLD — A number of residents attended the Sept. 24 meeting of the Freehold Borough Planning Board to oppose an application that seeks to convert a Court Street residential property into law offices. The residents said they believe the board's approval of such an application will lead to more conversions of homes to offices. Attorney Veronica M. Davis has filed an application with the board seeking permission to convert a home at 68 Court St. into a law office. Attorney Mark Williams of Mehr, Williams and La France, of Freehold, is representing Davis and said she is seeking a site plan approval and use variance. Davis, who handles matrimonial issues, currently rents office space for her law practice in a home at 80 Court St. She said her plan is to make the office at 68 Court St. similar to the one in which she now works. She told the board she will schedule only one client at a time and will not have a waiting room full of people. Davis said she wants to restore the 100- year-old home at 68 Court St. to its original grandeur. She said properties on Court Street are valuable spaces for attorneys because they are right across the street from the Monmouth County Court House. She said there will be four lawyers, including herself, and a small support staff working in the home. The property has two additional buildings: a one-car garage and a carriage house which is in disrepair. Davis intends to convert the carriage house to office space or to a residential use if that is the board's wish. Her office hours would be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The site plan includes landscaping. The house has a double lot, according to Williams, and the driveway to the home goes around the back with an oversized parking lot in the rear of the building. Davis said she will not buy the house if she does not get the use variance which will allow her to have a commercial use in a residential zone. She said she spoke with neighbors to advise them of her plans for the home. Project engineer and planner Michael Geller, of Geller Sive and Company, of Adelphia, testified on behalf of Davis. He said the property is 100 feet wide and 350 feet deep and is in an R-5 residential zone directly across from Monument Park. Geller called the area a "hodge-podge of mixed uses, some residential and others non-residential/commercial and office." He said the area's uses are "very diverse" and said the home at 68 Court St. sits on the "cusp" of commercial and residential uses. The Monmouth County Historical Association Museum and Library is next door at 70 Court St. A small parking lot is proposed behind the home with a circular driveway and landscaping for a buffer. The plan proposes 12 parking spaces and minimal Colonialstyle lighting. He said the proposed plan is not a detriment to the zoning plan or to the borough's zoning ordinance. He said business and residential areas can co-exist and did not foresee any problems. Geller said the "best chance to preserve the historic homes in the neighborhood would be to convert them to professional use." He said people are not looking for older houses in areas such as this. That statement did not sit well with Debra Esola, who owns an older home on Monument Street. "We have spent a great deal of time and effort to maintain our home," Esola said. "The housing on the streets bordering Monument Park is some of the most attractive and sought after in the borough. In fact, many of us had the experience of moving to Freehold on the basis of seeing this particular historic residential area as well as the downtown's sidewalk cafes. Many of us have spent energy, time and money upgrading our properties. "There is a clear and strong sentiment that our streets remain residential," Esola said. "In 1998 when an investor bought a house on Court Street, the neighborhood banded together and won our bid to keep the house from being divided into offices and having backyards turned into a parking lot. "In 2002 the Freehold Center Partnership withdrew a proposal to extend the Special Improvement District into Monument Park after the neighborhood opposed it," she said. "I can't imagine coming home to a house surrounded by lawyers' offices, blacktop yards and a street that becomes a ghost town after 5 p.m. One application leads to another and another." Attorney Ray Raya, who practices law from his home office on Court Street, told the board that the approval of Davis' application would "set off a domino effect throughout the neighborhood" and harm the area. "People still move into houses like this and they have a desire to live in Freehold Borough, away from the suburbs," he said. Raya, who operates his law office with no staff, told Geller he was wrong when he said there would be no negative impact on the neighborhood with the approval of the application. "There is significant negative criteria with a packed waiting room, staff members, more cars, more traffic. I also take exception to the comments about no environmental impact. More cars, more blacktop, cutting down trees is an impact." Mark Kalmis, of Court Street, said he has pride in his community and does not want to see the variance approved. "One house will be approved, then the next and the next. What we don't need is one more poorly lit parking lot on the edge of our community. I'd rather have someone there at night. We don't need one more vacant house at night." Greg Goldman, of Schanck Street, said he bought his home because it was in a family-oriented neighborhood and he liked what he saw. "Plenty of families are looking for homes like this," he said, referring to Geller's comment about people not wanting to buy this type of home. Goldman said established zones should be maintained. Imamu Mayfield, of Fourth Street, offered support for Davis' application. He said the issue of zoning was much bigger than the area around the courthouse. He said it is "all over the town." "We don't live in a perfect world," Mayfield said, adding that people who oppose Davis' application are "looking through a lens of negativity, not prosperity." The board did not make a decision on the application on Sept. 24. The application was carried to the Oct. 22 meeting.
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